financial crisis

Yes, so,

seven

HUNDRED

BILLION

dollars.

To save the economy? I don't understand.

So, basically, a bunch of banks gave out loans for people to buy houses. They made a bunch of financial desicions based on the idea that these loans would all be paid back. They spent all the money they did have, much of which was depositors' money.

Now, it turns out, a lot of these people are not, in fact, going to be able to pay these mortgages back. So we're supposed to give a whole bunch of money to these banks so that they don't fail?

NO.

That's BULL SHIT.

I think.

Can somebody tell me - what happens if we don't bail them out? Do we lose all our savings? I don't have any savings. I guess I would lose my 401K. Oh wait, I cashed in all my 401K's last year, because I knew something like this was going to happen.

I mean, people losing their retirement funds - that sucks. But how is putting 700 billion into the economy going to help keep this going? So we borrow another 700 billion from China? What if they demand the money back?

I think that the people that invested their money in this big bullshit scheme that the economy has been for the past decade should take their lumps. 401K gone? I'm sorry, but maybe you shouldn't have believed your employer and the Republicans that told you it was such a great idea.

We still have seeds. We have soil. Much of the country has water. We can grow food. We have a fair amount of oil. A lot of people might lose their house. And then there will be a lot of houses on the market that no one can afford. And then they will drop in price. And then those same people might be able to buy back their house.

We can survive this. We won't be able to act rich anymore, but we should still be able to eat and heat our homes in the winter. We shouldn't sell our souls to China so that we can keep the party going for another couple of years.

I kind of feel like we should just let it play out. People will feel a lot of pain - that will suck. But when they see that corporate CEO or that corporatist Republican politician walking down the street, maybe they will get angry at that person and string them up.

I think THAT's what they want to pay $700 billion to avoid.

Again, what is the consequence of NOT bailing out the economy? Will someone tell me? Inflation? Well, if you ask me, it's long overdue. I think the consequence of not bailing them out is that the big corporations will lose their ability to control society and produce everything we purchase. I think their big party is over, because they got too greedy. Are we going to REWARD them for that?

I am not thinking coherently. I am freaked out about this. I'm supposed to have a $100 co-pay for a hospital visit on my insurance, but I just got a bill from the hospital saying I owe $440 on top of that. I'm sure there was some de-regulation that happened that made this legal. Good for them. But at some point there isn't going to be any blood left in this stone. And I think that might end up hurting THEM more than it hurts ME.

I need Paul Krugman to explain this to me. We need Paul Krugman and James Kunstler in positions of authority to lead us through this mess. We are still people - we still have hands and brains, and we still have some materials to work with here. I think we really need to get back to reality, and do the work it takes to survive.

Because really, this American life of leisure, where we can go out to eat, and where we have all kinds of fancy electronic equipment, where we can go up the street and buy every kind of fancy food from all over the globe... where we can slack off in an office and make $50,000 a year.. Where we can just go out and buy something new and throw the old thing in the trash... this life is bullshit. They've been selling us the idea that this is sustainable, so that we borrow borrow borrow and spend spend spend money we don't have. And the money goes into the pockets of the few that actually DO have. And we end up with the bill, and we can't possibly pay it, and someone's going to get angry, but again, there is no blood in the stone. We have all been idiots. We're going to have to work out a way to survive and build community again. There is no Santa Claus. Well, maybe there is, but he doesn't come EVERY DAY - he comes ONCE a year, and he can't fit 5 billion 92 inch HD TV sets in his sleigh, so you're probably just getting a CARD.